ok so ive been going back and forth on this for like three weeks now and i need someone to just talk me off the ledge. basically i do a mix of landscape stuff and some casual travel filming, nothing super serious, i dont sell footage or anything. my budget is right around the 800-900 range which puts both of these in play depending on which bundle i go with.

the mini 4 pro keeps pulling me in because of the no registration thing in a lot of places and the fact that it fits in my day pack without even thinking about it. but then i watch air 3 footage and the dual cameras thing seems genuinely useful not just a spec sheet gimmick? like being able to switch to the medium tele without landing seems like it would actually change how i shoot.

i know the obvious answer is probably just go try both but nobody near me has them in stock to demo. anyone switched from one to the other or shoot with both regularly? does the size difference actually matter day to day or am i overthinking it

had the mini 3 pro before and jumped to the air 3 earlier this year and honestly the dual camera thing is not a gimmick at all. i use the tele way more than i expected ? especially for landscape stuff where you want to compress the scene a little. the wide on the air 3 is also just slightly better in low light which you probably wont notice on a sunny day but golden hour and into dusk it starts to matter.

that said if you're genuinely going to travel a lot and care about not registering or dealing with airspace rules in sketchy international spots the mini 4 pro is a real argument. i almost kept my mini just for that reason. the footage from both is honestly great for personal use though, you wont be disappointed either way. if i had to do it again in your situation id probably still go air 3 just because the versatility won me over but its closer than the spec sheets make it look.

im kind of in the same boat lol been watching every comparison video on youtube and they all just say the same stuff. one thing i havent seen many people talk about is the RC2 controller situation ? the air 3 combo with the RC2 is pretty nice out of the box but adds to the cost fast. just something to factor in if youre budgeting tight